ABSTRACT
In February 1963, Don Wood, from The Gallery, 64 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand, wrote to secretary general of the Venice Biennale seeking the particulars regarding participation by overseas artists in the Biennale di Venezia. Included in the correspondence was a copy of the 1962 Biennale regulations for Wood to observe in order to meet the conditions for the next exhibition in 1964. Discounting Australia, this was the first correspondence held in the Biennale archives indicating interest by a nation from the Pacific wishing to participate in the Venice Biennale. The 2003 New Zealand Pavilion again showed visitors to the Venice Biennale that contemporary work came from well outside of the Euro-American centre and that artists from the Pacific were going to provide some alternative views on what had become a predictable suite of works coming out of the mainstream.
